Meghalaya opens 1st automated multilevel car park in Shillong

Shillong: Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma on Friday inaugurated Meghalaya’s first automated multilevel car park at Vivekananda Road in Shillong. In his remarks, he acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges confronting the capital is congestion and traffic management, a problem that has grown with the steady increase in vehicles.He said the govt has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to gradually decongest the city, and the newly inaugurated facility is only one part of that larger plan.The CM said nine more multilevel car parks are in the pipeline, which together will provide space for about 1,300 vehicles. He also spoke about a new parking policy that allows landowners to partner with the govt to develop parking facilities, with the owners permitted to collect revenue from the spaces.“Different aspects are being looked into and one of the factors that lead to traffic is because people park randomly,” he said, adding that designated parking spaces must be provided to ensure smoother movement.Sangma further highlighted other initiatives aimed at easing traffic, including dedicated parking areas for buses and taxis at Kyndailad and Police Bazar, relocation of hawkers from busy roads, expansion of the Umshyrpi–Seventh Mile stretch, construction of an elevated or four-lane road from Rhino Museum Point to Civil Hospital and Barik, and the eventual shifting of administrative offices to the new administrative city.“All these proposals are at an advanced stage and are being taken up in a manner to ensure ease of traffic movement not only for immediate traffic relief but for the next few decades,” he said.